Facilitating the editing of multimedia as part of sending the multimedia in a message

ABSTRACT

One or more embodiments described herein include methods and systems of sending multimedia content items as electronic communications. More specifically, systems and methods described herein provide user the ability to easily and effectively select multimedia content items stored on a computing device for inclusion in a communication session without navigating away from the communication session. Additionally, systems and methods described herein provide a user the ability to edit multimedia content items for inclusion in the communication session.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/826,032 filed Nov. 29, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/312,481 filed Jun. 23, 2014, which claimspriority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/985,456 filed Apr. 28, 2014. Each of the aforementioned patents andapplications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

One or more embodiments relate generally to electronic messaging systemsand methods. More specifically, one or more embodiments relate tosystems and methods for increasing functionality in an electronicmessaging system.

2. Background and Relevant Art

Computing devices (e.g., computers, tablets, and smart phones) providenumerous ways for people to connect and communicate with one another.For example, a variety of electronic messaging systems provide variousmethods to send and receive electronic messages. For instance, acomputing device can allow a user to communicate with other users usingtext messaging, instant messaging, social network posting, and otherforms of electronic communication. In addition, an electroniccommunication may include a variety of content including text, images,video, audio, and/or other multimedia. In general, electroniccommunication has become a popular way for people to connect andcommunicate with one another.

Including multimedia in electronic communications has become anespecially popular way to add humor, context, and information to anelectronic communication session. For example, a user may send a digitalphotograph to a co-user indicating his location. Similarly, a user maysend a video laughing in response to an electronic message that includesa joke. Thus, including multimedia in an electronic communication is aneasy way to add a layer of expression to an electronic communicationsession that is typically difficult with only textual messages.

Conventional processes for including multimedia in an electroniccommunication session are generally problematic. For example, a usertypically navigates through several different user interfaces in orderto select existing multimedia for inclusion in an electronic message.Navigating away from the electronic communication interface, however,can cause a user to miss messages or otherwise make adding multimediatime consuming and frustrating for a user.

Additionally, a user is typical not able to easily edit multimedia forinclusion in an electronic communication session. For example, a usermay wish to edit light contrast, color saturation, or some othercharacteristic in a digital photograph and then include the editeddigital photograph in an electronic communication. Generally, in orderto include edited multimedia in an electronic communication, a userfirst must edit the multimedia using software specifically dedicated tothat purpose. Thus, a user is typically not able to edit multimediawithout navigating away from the electronic communication session. Thisadds extra steps and hassle to the process of composing an electroniccommunication.

Thus, there are several disadvantages to current methods for includingmultimedia in an electronic message.

SUMMARY

One or more embodiments provide benefits and/or solve one or more of theforegoing and other problems in the art with methods and systems thatprovide enhanced functionality for electronic messaging systems. Forexample, methods and systems described herein allow users greaterfunctionality for including multimedia content items in electronicmessages. Furthermore, one or more embodiments can provide the foregoingor other benefits through an intuitive user interface.

In addition to the foregoing, systems and methods of one or moreembodiments allow a user to select an existing multimedia content itemfor inclusion in an electronic message without navigating away from acommunication thread. For example, in one or more embodiments, a userinterface displays both a communication thread with electronic messagessent between co-users and a collection of stored multimedia contentitems. Thus, a user may browse and select a stored multimedia contentitem without navigating away from the communication thread.

Furthermore, systems and methods of one or more embodiments allow a userto easily edit multimedia content items for inclusion in an electronicmessage. For example, in one or more embodiments, a user may edit adigital photograph or video without having to utilize a separate pieceof software. This provides the user with a more intuitive andstreamlined way for including edited multimedia content items in anelectronic message.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention will be setforth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious fromthe description, or may be learned by the practice of such exemplaryembodiments. The features and advantages of such embodiments may berealized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinationsparticularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and otherfeatures will become more fully apparent from the following descriptionand appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of such exemplaryembodiments as set forth hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which the above recited and otheradvantages and features can be obtained, a more particular descriptionbriefly described above will be rendered by reference to specificembodiments thereof that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Itshould be noted that the figures are not drawn to scale, and thatelements of similar structure or function are generally represented bylike reference numerals for illustrative purposes throughout thefigures. Understanding that these drawings depict only typicalembodiments and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting ofscope, one or more embodiments of the invention will be described andexplained with additional specificity and detail through the use of theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an electronic messaging systemin accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an environment for implementingthe system of FIG. 1 in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIGS. 3A-3I illustrate user interfaces for selecting, editing, andsending a multimedia content item in accordance with one or moreembodiments;

FIGS. 4A-4E illustrate user interfaces for selecting, editing, andsending a multimedia content item in accordance with one or moreadditional embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a series of acts in a method ofselecting and including multimedia content items in an electronicmessage in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a series of acts in another method ofselecting and including multimedia content items in an electronicmessage in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computing device inaccordance with one or more embodiments; and

FIG. 8 is an example network environment of a social networking systemin accordance with one or more embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more embodiments include an electronic messaging system thatprovides users with efficient and effective user experiences whensending electronic communications including multimedia content. Morespecifically, one or more embodiments described herein allow users toeasily and intuitively select multimedia content for inclusion in anelectronic communication. For example, one or more embodiments allow auser to select a multimedia content item for inclusion in an electronicmessage without navigating away from a communication thread.

In particular, one or more embodiments allow a user to browse and selecta multimedia content item from a gallery of selectable multimediacontent item without navigating away from the communication thread. Forexample, one or more embodiments display a graphical user interface thatincludes a communication thread with electronic messages sent betweenco-users, as well as a display area or gallery of selectable multimediacontent items. Thus, one or more embodiments allow a user to receive andread messages while simultaneously browsing multimedia content items.

In one or more embodiments, the display area or gallery includes apreview of multimedia content items likely to be selected by the user.For example, the display area or gallery can include a predeterminednumber of the most recent multimedia content items. Alternatively, thedisplay area or gallery can include multimedia content items related toparticipant in a communication session, content items related to a topicof the session, content items most often sent as messages, or contentitems selected by another criteria.

In addition to the foregoing, the electronic messaging system can modifya preview of multimedia content items to aid in viewing and selection ofthe content items. For example, the electronic messaging system can cropcontent items based on the size of the display area or gallery.Furthermore, the electronic messaging system auto-play videos in thedisplay area or gallery.

Furthermore, the electronic messaging system can allow a user to easilyand effectively edit a multimedia content item for inclusion in amessage. For example, the one electronic messaging system can allow auser to start an editing process or edit a multimedia content item inthe preview area or gallery without navigating away from the electronicmessaging system. Thus, one or more embodiments allow a user to edit amultimedia content item without having to utilize a separate softwareoutside of the electronic messaging system.

In one or more embodiments, the electronic messaging system provides thepreview area or gallery of multimedia content items below acommunication thread. The electronic messaging system allows a user tohorizontally scroll through the multimedia content items. Upon detectinga selection of a multimedia content item, the electronic messagingsystem can provide options to edit or send the multimedia content itemas a message. If the edit option is selected, the electronic messagingsystem can make the multimedia content item available for editing.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example embodiment of an electronic messagingsystem 100. As shown, the electronic messaging system 100 may include,but is not limited to, a user interface manager 102 (or simply “UImanager”), a user input detector 104, a content item manager 106, acommunication manager 108, and a data storage 110. Each of thecomponents 102-110 of the electronic messaging system 100 may be incommunication with one another using any suitable communicationtechnologies. Although the disclosure herein shows the components102-110 to be separate in FIG. 1, any of the components 102-110 may becombined into fewer components, such as into a single facility ormodule, or divided into more components as may serve one or moreembodiments. In addition, the components 102-110 may be located on, orimplemented by, one or more computing devices, such as those describedbelow in relation to FIG. 7. Alternatively, portions of the electronicmessaging system 100 can be located on a computing device, while otherportions of the electronic messaging system 100 are located on, or formpart of, a social networking system, such as that described below inreference to FIG. 8.

The components 102-110 can comprise software, hardware, or both. Forexample, the components 102-110 can comprise one or more instructionsstored on a computer readable storage medium and executable by aprocessor of one or more computing devices. When executed by the one ormore processors, the computer-executable instructions of the electronicmessaging system 100 can cause a computing device(s) to perform themethods described herein. Alternatively, the components 102-110 cancomprise hardware, such as a special-purpose processing device toperform a certain function. Additionally or alternatively, thecomponents 102-110 can comprise a combination of computer-executableinstructions and hardware.

As mentioned above, and as shown in FIG. 1, the electronic messagingsystem 100 can include a user interface manager 102. The user interfacemanager 102 provides, manages, updates, and/or controls graphical userinterfaces (or simply “user interfaces”) that allow a user to view andinteract with display elements. For example, the user interface manager102 may identify, display, update, or otherwise provide various userinterfaces that contain one or more display elements in various layouts.

More specifically, the user interface manager 102 can display a varietyof display elements within a graphical user interface. For example, theuser interface manager 102 may display a graphical user interface on adisplay of a computing device. For instance, display elements include,but are not limited to: buttons, text boxes, menus, thumbnails, scrollbars, hyperlinks, etc. In one or more embodiments, the user interfacemanager 102 can display and format display elements in any one of avariety of layouts.

Furthermore, the user interface manager 102 can also update, remove,resize, or reposition display elements in response to user interactions.For example, as will be described in more detail below, the electronicmessaging system 100 may detect user input in a variety of ways. Forinstance, in one or more embodiments, the detected user input may causethe user interface manager 102 to update a graphical user interfacebased on the detected input. Similarly, in one or more embodiments, thedetected user input may cause the user interface manager 102 to resizeone or more display elements, to reposition one or more display elementswithin the graphical user interface, or to otherwise change or removeone or more display elements within the graphical user interface.

Additionally, the user interface manager 102 can selectively updatecertain areas of a user interface in response to user interactions. Forexample, in one or more embodiments, detected user input may cause theuser interface manager 102 to update or change within only one area of agraphical user interface. In one or more embodiments, upon a detecteduser interaction, the user interface manager 102 may update one areawithin a user interface from one type of display to a second type ofdisplay, while continuing to display another area within the userinterface with no updates.

Along similar lines, the user interface manager 102 can reorganize auser interface in response to user interactions. For example, in one ormore embodiments, detected user input may cause the user interfacemanager 102 to split a graphical user interface into two or more areas.In one or more embodiments, upon a detected user interaction, the userinterface manager 102 may reorganize a user interface from onlydisplaying one area with a first collection of display elements todisplaying two areas with the first collection of display elements inthe first area and a second collection of display elements in the secondarea. Likewise, in one or more embodiments, the user interface manager102 may also consolidate or remove areas within a graphical userinterface in response to detected user interactions.

As mentioned above, and as illustrated in FIG. 1, the electronicmessaging system 100 may further include a user input detector 104. Theuser input detector 104 detects, receives, and/or facilitates user inputin any suitable manner. In some examples, the user input detector 104detects one or more user interactions. As referred to herein, a “userinteraction” means a single input, a combination of inputs, receivedfrom a user by way of one or more input devices, or via one or moretouch gestures as described above. A user interaction can have variableduration and may take place anywhere on the graphical user interfacemanaged by the user interface manager 102 described above.

For example, the user input detector 104 can detect a user interactionfrom a keyboard, mouse, touch screen display, or any other input device.In the event a touch screen display is utilized, the user input detector104 can detect one or more touch gestures that form a user interaction(e.g., tap gestures, swipe gestures, pinch gestures, etc.) provided by auser by way of the touch screen. In some examples, the user inputdetector 104 can detect touch gestures in relation to and/or directed atone or more display elements displayed as part of the graphical userinterface presented on the touch screen display. In one or moreembodiments, the user input detector 104 may report any detected touchgesture in relation to and/or directed at one or more display elementsto user interface manager 102.

The user input detector 104 may additionally, or alternatively, receivedata representative of a user interaction. For example, the user inputdetector 104 may receive one or more user configurable parameters from auser, one or more user commands from the user, and/or any other suitableuser input. For example, the user input detector 104 can receive voicecommands or otherwise sense, detect, or receive user input.

As mentioned above, and as illustrated in FIG. 1, the electronicmessaging system 100 may further include a content item manager 106. Thecontent item manager 106 manages multimedia content items (such asdigital files), tracks recent multimedia content items, creates previewsof multimedia content items, manages edits to multimedia content items,and otherwise handles all actions effecting multimedia content items.For example, in one or more embodiments, the content item manager 106determines the most recent content items stored on a system, creates orretrieves a preview of each of the recent content items, and presentsthe previews of the recent content items as part of a user interface.

For example, as will be described in more detail below, the electronicmessaging system 100 may be implemented on a computing device with datastorage. In one or more embodiments, the content item manager 106searches the data storage of the computing device for multimedia contentitems suitable for inclusion in a communication session. For example, inone or more embodiments, the content item manager 106 may search thedata storage of the computing device for digital photographs, digitalvideos, and/or sound recording. In one or more embodiments, the contentitem manager 106 may create a linked list linking to the multimediafiles stored in the data storage of the computing device. Alternativelyor additionally, the content item manager 106 may create a copy of themultimedia content items stored in the data storage of the computingdevice.

Once the content item manager 106 has identified the multimedia contentitems stored on the computing device, the content item manager 106 maycreate or retrieve a preview of each multimedia content items. Forexample, in one or more embodiments, the content item manager 106 maycreate a preview of a digital photograph by cropping multimedia contentitem based an aspect ratio of a user interface. For example, in one ormore embodiments, the content item manager 106 may crop a rectangularpreview of digital photograph and/or digital video such that the previewis square. Additionally, in one or more embodiments, the content itemmanager 106 may create a preview of a digital video that includes aportion of the digital video that automatically plays within a portionof the user interface.

In one or more embodiments, the content item manager 106 may searchfiles stored on the computing device only for the most recent multimediacontent items. For example, in one or more embodiments, the content itemmanager 106 may identify the ten most recent multimedia content itemsstored on the computing device. Alternatively, the content item manager106 may identify a percentage of the most recent multimedia contentitems stored on the computing device. In one or more embodiments, thecontent item manager 106 may determine recentness of a multimediacontent items by identifying a timestamp associated with the multimediacontent items that indicates when the multimedia content items wascreated or added to the computing device. The content item manager 106may then compare the identified timestamp to timestamps of othermultimedia content items. In one or more alternative embodiments, thenumber or percentage of recent multimedia content items identified bythe content item manager 106 may be a number configurable by the user orcan be a set predetermined number.

Additionally, in one or more embodiments, the content item manager 106may manage editing of multimedia content items. For example, in one ormore embodiments, the content item manager 106 may create a copy of amultimedia content items, and present the copy for editing. In one ormore embodiments, the content item manager 106 may track edits made tothe copy of the multimedia content items and provide the edited copy forsending to one or more co-users. For instance, after a user selects apreview from the user interface, the content item manager 106 may createa copy of the multimedia content items associated with the preview andpresent the copy of the multimedia content items e to the user forediting. In one or more embodiments, the content item manager 106 maytrack edits to the copy of the multimedia content items and provide theedited copy of the multimedia content items for sending to one or moreco-users as an electronic communication.

In one or more alternative embodiments, the content item manager 106 mayprovide the original multimedia content items for editing, rather than acopy of the multimedia content items, as discussed above. For example,in one or more embodiments, after a user selects a preview from the userinterface, the content item manager 106 may present the multimediacontent items associated with the preview to the user for editing. Inthat embodiment, the content item manager 106 may track edits to themultimedia content items and provide the edited multimedia content itemsfor sending to one or more co-users as an electronic communication.Accordingly, in some embodiments, the content item manager 106 storesedits made to the multimedia content items within the data storage of acomputing device, such that the edited multimedia content items isavailable to other applications on the computing device. In one or morealternative embodiments, as described above, the content item manager106 discards edits made a copy of the multimedia content items once thecopy of the multimedia content items has been provided for sending toone or more co-users of the communication system.

The content item manager 106 may enable a variety of edits to beperformed in connection with either a multimedia content items, or acopy of a multimedia content items as described above. For example, withregard to digital photographs and/or digital videos, the content itemmanager 106 may allow for edits such as altering the color contrast,altering brightness, altering sharpness, altering clarity, invertingcolor (i.e., color to sepia, color to black and white), adding text orimage overlays, adding blended image effects, or any other type of editsuitable to be made to a digital photograph and/or digital video.Furthermore, with regard to digital videos, the content item manager 106may allow for edits such as adding scene transitions, adding front orend credits, shortening or lengthening the runtime of the video, addinga sound track, or any other type of edit suitable to be made inconnection with a digital video. Additionally, with regard to soundrecordings, the content item manager 106 may allow for edits such asaltering volume, adding reverb, adding sound effects, concatenatingadditional recordings, or any other type of edit suitable to made inconnection with a sound recording.

As mentioned above, and as illustrated in FIG. 1, the electronicmessaging system 100 may further include a communication manager 108.The communication manager 108 can facilitate receiving and sending datato and from the electronic messaging system 100, or a device upon whichthe electronic messaging system 100 is implemented. In particular, thecommunication manager 108 can instruct or activate one or morecommunication interfaces of a computing device, as described below tosend or receive data, particularly data related to electroniccommunications. Furthermore, the communication manager 108 can packageor format content items to be sent or received from the electronicmessaging system 100 in any necessary form that is able to be sentthrough one or more communication channels and using an appropriatecommunication protocol, as described further below with reference toFIG. 7.

As discussed above, the electronic messaging system 100 can include adata storage 110, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The data storage 110 maymaintain content item data 112 representative of data associated withmultimedia content items available for inclusion as an electroniccommunication. For example, the content item data 112 may include, butis not limited to: digital photographs, digital videos, recordings ofsound inputs, as well as other data representing edits to the digitalphotographs, digital videos, and/or recordings of sound inputs.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example system 200, withinwhich one or more embodiments of the electronic messaging system 100 canbe implemented. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the system 200 can includecomputing devices 202, 204, a network 206, and a communication server208. The computing devices 202, 204, the network 206, and thecommunication server 208 may be communicatively coupled, as shown inFIG. 2. Although FIG. 2 illustrates a particular arrangement of thecomputing devices 202, 204, the network 206, and the communicationserver 208, various additional arrangements are possible. For example,the computing devices 202, 204 may directly communicate with thecommunication server 208, bypassing the network 206, or alternatively,may directly communicate with each other.

The computing devices 202, 204, the network 206, and the communicationserver 208 may communicate using any communication platforms andtechnologies suitable for transporting data and/or communicationsignals. For example, the computing devices 202, 204, the network 206,and the communication server 208 may communicate via any knowncommunication technologies, devices, media, and protocols supportive ofremote data communications, examples of which will be described in moredetail below with respect to FIG. 7. In addition, in certainembodiments, the computing devices 202, 204, and the communicationserver 208 may communicate via the network 206, which may include one ormore social networks as described further below with respect to FIG. 8.

The communication server 208 may generate, store, receive, and transmitelectronic communication data. For example, the communication server 208may receive an electronic communication from the computing device 202and send the received electronic communication to the computing device204. In particular, the communication server 208 can transmit electronicmessages between one or more users of the system 200. The communicationserver 208 can receive a wide range of electronic communication types,including but not limited to, text messages, instant messages,social-networking messages, social-networking posts, emails, and anyother form of electronic communication. Additional details regarding thecommunication server 208 will be discussed below with respect to FIG. 7.

The network 206 may represent a network or collection of networks (suchas the Internet, a corporate intranet, a virtual private network (VPN),a local area network (LAN), a wireless local network (WLAN), a cellularnetwork, a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN),or a combination of two or more such networks. Thus, the network 206 maybe any suitable network over which the computing device 202 may accessthe communication server 208 and/or the computing device 204, or viceversa. The network 206 will be discussed in more detail below withregard to FIGS. 7 and 8.

In addition to the system and network elements of the system 200, FIG. 2illustrates that a user 210 can be associated with the computing device202, and that a user 212 can be associated with the computing device204. Although FIG. 2 illustrates only two users 210, 212, the system 200can include a large number of users, with each of the users interactingwith the system 200 through one or more computing devices. For example,the user 210 can interact with the computing device 202 for the purposeof composing, and sending an electronic communication (e.g., instantmessage). The user 210 may interact with the computing device 202 by wayof a user interface, managed by the user interface manager 102, on thecomputing device 202. For example, the user 210 can utilize the userinterface to cause the computing device 202 to compose and send anelectronic communication to one or more of the plurality of users of thesystem 200.

In one or more embodiments, the components 102-110, as described withregard to FIG. 1, may be implemented on one or more of the computingdevices 202, 204 and the communication server 208. For example, thecomputing devices 202, 204, and the communication server 208 maycommunicate across the network 206 via the communication manager 108 ofthe electronic messaging system 100. In one or more embodiments, thecomputing devices 202, 204 may receive user inputs via the user inputdetector 104. Likewise, in one or more embodiments, the computingdevices 202, 204 may provide graphical user interfaces via the userinterface manager 102. Furthermore, in one or more embodiments each ofthe computing devices 202, 204 can include an instance of the electronicmessaging system 100.

As will be described in more detail below, each of the components100-110 of the electronic messaging system 100 as described with regardto FIGS. 1 and 2, can provide, alone and/or in combination with theother components of the electronic messaging system 100, one or moregraphical user interfaces. In particular, the components 102-110 canallow a user to interact with a collection of display elements for avariety of purposes. In particular, FIGS. 3A-4E and the description thatfollows illustrate various example embodiments of the user interfacesand features that are in accordance with general principles as describedabove.

In some examples, a computing device (i.e., computing device 202, 204 ofFIG. 2) can implement part or all of the electronic messaging system100. For example, FIG. 3A illustrates a computing device 300 that mayimplement one or more of the components 102-110 of the electronicmessaging system 100. As illustrated in FIG. 3A, the computing device300 is a handheld device, such as a mobile phone device (e.g., asmartphone). As used herein, the term “handheld device” refers to adevice sized and configured to be held/operated in a single hand of auser. in additional or alternative example, however, any other suitablecomputing device, such as, but not limited to, a tablet device, ahandheld device, larger wireless devices, laptop or desktop computer, apersonal-digital assistant device, and/or any other suitable computingdevice can perform one or more of the processes and/or operationsdescribed herein.

The computing device 300 can include any of the features and componentsdescribed below in reference to a computing device 700 of FIG. 7. Asillustrated in FIG. 3A, the computing device 300 includes a touch screendisplay 302 that can display or provide user interfaces and by way ofwhich user input may be received and/or detected. As used herein, a“touch screen display” refers to the display of a touch screen device.In one or more embodiments, a touch screen device may be a computingdevice 202, 204 with at least one surface upon which a user 210, 212 mayperform touch gestures (e.g., a laptop, a tablet computer, a personaldigital assistant, a media player, a mobile phone). Additionally oralternatively, the computing device 300 may include any other suitableinput device, such as a touch pad or those described below in referenceto FIG. 7.

FIG. 3A illustrates a touch screen display 302 of the computing device300 displaying one embodiment of a graphical user interface, inparticular a messaging graphical user interface 304. For example, theuser interface manager 102 provides various display areas and displayelements as part of the messaging graphical user interface 304. In oneor more embodiments, the messaging graphical user interface 304 includesa communication thread 306, as well as a message input control paletteor toolbar 310.

As described above, the communication manager 108 can facilitatereceiving and sending data. In one or more embodiments, thecommunication manager 108 facilitates receiving and sending ofelectronic communications between the computing devices 202, 204. Alsoin one or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102 displayselectronic communications sent and received via the communicationmanager 108. In one or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102can display electronic communications sent and received via thecommunication manager 108 in the communication thread 306 within themessaging graphical user interface 304.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, the user interface manager 102provides the communication thread 306 that includes electronic messages308 a sent from an account of a user of the communication device 300.Similarly, the communication thread 306 can include electronic messages308 b received by the account of the user of the computing device 300.In one or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102 organizes thecommunication thread 306 such that new messages are added to the bottomof the communication thread 306 so that older messages are displayed atthe top of the communication thread 306. In alternative embodiments, theuser interface manager 102 may organize the messages 308 a, 308 b in anymanner that may indicate to a user the chronological or otherrelationship between the messages 308 a, 308 b.

The user interface manager 102 provides a variety of electroniccommunication characteristics to help a user distinguish betweenelectronic communications in the communication thread 306. For example,as illustrated in FIG. 3A, the user interface manager 102 displays theelectronic messages 308 a sent from an account of the user of thecomputing device 300 pointed toward one side (i.e., the right side) ofthe messaging graphical user interface 304. On the other hand, the userinterface manager 102 displays the electronic messages 308 b received bythe communication manager 108 pointed toward the opposite side (i.e.,the left side) of the messaging graphical user interface 304. In one ormore embodiments, the positioning and orientation of the electronicmessages 308 a, 308 b provides a clear indicator to a user of thecomputing device 300 of the origin of the various electroniccommunications displayed within the messaging graphical user interface304.

Another characteristic provided by the user interface manager 102 thathelps a user distinguish electronic communications may be a color of theelectronic communications. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the userinterface manager 102 displays sent electronic messages 308 a in a firstcolor and received electronic messages 308 b in a second color. In oneor more embodiments, the first and second colors may be black and white,respectively, with an inverted typeface color. In an alternativeembodiment, the user interface manager 102 may display the electronicmessages 308 a, 308 b with white backgrounds and different coloredoutlines.

In yet another alternative embodiment, the user interface manager 102may display the electronic messages 308 a, 308 b with backgrounds ofdifferent patterns, in different fonts, in different sizes or in anyother manner that may distinguish the sent electronic messages 308 afrom the received electronic messages 308 b. For example, in one or moreembodiments, the user interface manager 102 displays sent electronicmessages 308 a with white typeface on a blue background. Likewise, inone or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102 displaysreceived electronic messages 308 b with black typeface on a greybackground.

As mentioned above, the user interface manager 102 may also provide amessage input control palette or toolbar 310. As illustrated in FIG. 3A,the user interface manager 102 displays the message input controlpalette or toolbar 310 as part of the messaging graphical user interface304. In one or more embodiments, the message input control palette ortool bar 310 includes a variety of selectable message input controlsthat provide a user with various message input options or other options.For example, in FIG. 3A, the message input control palette or toolbar310 includes a text input control 312 a, a photo or video input control312 b, a multimedia input control 312 c, a symbol input control 312 d,and a sound input control 312 e. In one or more alternative embodiments,the message input control palette or toolbar 310 may provide the inputcontrols 312 a-312 e in a different order, may provide other inputcontrols not displayed in FIG. 3A, or may omit one or more of the inputcontrols 312 a-312 e shown in FIG. 3A.

As will be described below in greater detail, a user may interact withany of the input controls 312 a-312 e in order to compose and senddifferent types of electronic communications. For example, if a userinteracts with the text input control 312 a, the user interface manager102 may provide a touch screen display keyboard in a portion of themessaging graphical user interface 304 that the user may utilize tocompose a textual message. Similarly, if a user interacts with the photoinput control 312 b, the user interface manager 102 may provide a cameraviewfinder interface within a portion of the messaging graphical userinterface 304 that the user may utilize to add a photo to thecommunication thread 306. Furthermore, if a user interacts with thesound input control 312 e, the user interface manager 102 may provide asound recording control by way of which the user can record a voice orother sound message. Likewise, as will be described in more detailbelow, if a user interacts with the multimedia input control 312 c, theuser interface manager 102 may provide a multimedia content item displayarea with multimedia content items that the user can select to send as amessage.

A user may interact with any of the message input controls 312 a-e inorder to compose and send a message to one or more co-users via theelectronic messaging system 100. For example, in FIG. 3B, a finger 314of a user's hand is shown interacting with the multimedia input control312 c. In one or more embodiments, the user input detector 104 candetect interactions (e.g., a tap touch gesture) of the finger 314 withthe multimedia input control 312 c. In one or more embodiments, the userinterface manager 102 may display an input control indicator 320 toindicate which input control 312 a-e is currently active. Additionally,as shown in FIG. 3B, upon the user input detector 104 detecting a taptouch gesture on the multimedia input control 312 c, the user interfacemanager 102 can display a multimedia content item display area 316containing one or more multimedia content item previews 318 a, 318 b.

In particular, as illustrated by FIG. 3F, the user interface manager 102can provide the communication thread 306 in a first portion (i.e., theupper portion) of the messaging user interface 304. The user interfacemanager 102 can provide the multimedia content item display area 316 ina second portion (i.e., the lower portion) of the messaging userinterface 304. Thus, the user interface manager 102 can allow the userto both view the communication thread 306 and any new messages, whilealso being able to view and browse content items. In alternativeembodiments the user interface manager 102 can arrange the communicationthread 306 and the multimedia content item display area 316 horizontallyor in another arrangement other than a vertical arrangement.

As discussed above, in one or more embodiments, the content item manager106 provides the multimedia content item previews 318 a, 318 b based onmultimedia content items stored on computing device 300. For example, asshown in FIG. 3B, the content item manager 106 may provide themultimedia content item preview 318 a based on a digital photographstored on the computing device 300. In one or more embodiments, thecontent item manager 106 provides the multimedia content item preview318 a in the multimedia content item display area 316 based on therecentness of the multimedia content item associated with the contentitem preview 318 a. In other words, in one or more embodiments, themultimedia content item associated with the content item preview 318 ais the most recently stored multimedia content item on the computingdevice 300 or the most recently captured or created multimedia contentitem on the computing device 300.

In one or more embodiments, the content item manager 106 may crop themultimedia content item to create the content item preview 318 a. Forexample, the multimedia content item associated with the multimediacontent item preview 318 a may be a rectangular digital photographstored on the computing device 300. Accordingly, in one or moreembodiments, the content item manager 106 may crop the rectangulardigital so that the content item preview 318 a is square and sized forpresentation in the multimedia content item display area 316.Additionally, in one or more embodiments, the content item manager 106may tailor the cropped content item preview 318 a to an aspect ratio ofthe multimedia content item display area 316. In other words, in one ormore embodiments, the content item manager 106 may tailor the croppedcontent item preview 318 a such that it is square within the multimediacontent item display area 316 even if the multimedia content itemdisplay area 316 takes up a larger portion of the messaging graphicaluser interface 304 than is shown in FIG. 3B.

By cropping the multimedia content items, the content item manager 106can help ensure that more than one content item preview 318 a, 318 b canbe shown in the multimedia content item display area 316. Additionally,by cropping the multimedia content items, the content item manager 106can help ensure that the content items can fit within the communicationthread 306. Still another benefit of cropping the multimedia contentitems is to reduce a file size of the multimedia content items to enablequicker sending, receiving, and displaying of multimedia content items.

In one or more embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3B, the content itemmanager 106 may provide the multimedia content item preview 318 b basedon a digital video stored on the computing device 300. For example, inone or more embodiments, the content item manager 106 may provides apreview of a digital video that includes at least a portion of thedigital video that auto plays within the multimedia content item displayarea 316. For instance, a illustrated in FIG. 3B, multimedia contentitem preview 318 b, may be a portion of a digital video that auto playswithin the multimedia content item display area 316. In one or moreembodiments, the portion of the digital video that auto plays may onlybe a few seconds long. In one or more alternative embodiments, theportion of the digital video that auto plays may be a percentage of thetotal length of the digital video (e.g. a preview consisting of 10% of a60 second digital video may be 6 seconds long). Alternatively, theentire digital video can auto play within the multimedia content itemdisplay area 316.

As with the multimedia content item preview 318 a discussed above, thecontent item manager 106 may crop the multimedia content item preview318 b such that the preview 318 b is square and sized for presentationin the multimedia content item display area 316. In one or moreembodiments, the content item manager 106 may crop and tailor multimediacontent item previews 318 a, 318 b such that the previews 318 a, 318 bare the same size within the multimedia content item display area 316,even though the multimedia content items associated with the previews318 a, 318 b are of differing sizes.

As shown, the user interface manager 102 may display the multimediacontent item display area 316 such that the display area 316 ishorizontally scrollable within the messaging graphical user interface304. For example, as shown in FIG. 3C, the user input detector 104 maydetect a user interaction of the finger 314 of a user's hand within themultimedia content item display area 316. For instance, the detecteduser interaction may be a swipe touch gesture of the finger 314 movingacross the touch screen display 302 along the direction of the arrow322. In one or more embodiments, in response to the detected touchgesture, the user interface manager 102 may update the multimediacontent item display area 316 to appear to be scrolling along thedirection of the arrow 322. In a preferred embodiment, the multimediacontent item preview 318 b will continue to auto play through thehorizontal scroll.

As discussed above, in one or more embodiments, the content item manager106 may provide content item previews of multimedia content items likelyto be selected by the user. For example, the content item manager 106may provide content item previews of the most recent multimedia contentitems stored on the computing device 300. For example, in oneembodiment, the content item manager 106 may provide content itempreviews of any multimedia content items stored on the computing device300 within the last 24 hours. In an alternative embodiment, the contentitem manager 106 may provide content item previews of a predeterminednumber of content items (e.g., 10, 20, 30) stored on the computingdevice 300.

In yet additional alternative embodiments, the content item manager 106may provide content item previews based on other criteria besidesrecentness. For example, the electronic messaging system 100 can providecontent item previews including participants in conversation included inthe communication thread 306. Alternatively, the content item manager106 may provide content item previews of multimedia items were createdor “taken” at a particular location (e.g., all the pictures and videostaken at the lake house). In still further embodiments, the content itemmanager 106 may provide content item previews related in some way tocontent of the messages in the communication thread 306.

In one or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102 may updatethe messaging graphical user interface 304 to include a camera roll inresponse to a detected over-scroll within the multimedia content itemdisplay area 316. For example, as shown in FIG. 3D, the content itemmanager 106 may have provided only the multimedia content items previews318 a and 318 b for display in the multimedia content item display area316. Accordingly, the multimedia content item preview 318 b is the lastpreview displayed in the multimedia content item display area 316. Inone or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102 may indicate themultimedia content item preview 318 b is the last preview in themultimedia content item display area 316 by displaying a blank area 324to right of the multimedia content item preview 318 b. Additionally oralternatively, the user interface manager 102 may indicate themultimedia content item preview 318 b is the last preview by providingan automatic stop to a scrolling motion once the content preview 318 bis reached.

In one or more embodiments, the user input detector 104 may detect aswipe gesture of the user's finger 314 across the multimedia contentitem display area 316 along the direction of the arrow 322. In responseto the detected swipe gesture, in one or more embodiments, the userinterface manager 102 may sequentially display the content itempreviews. In one or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102 mayprovide a camera roll of the computing device in response to a detectedover-scroll. As illustrated in FIG. 3D, an over-scroll occurs when auser continues to horizontally scroll the multimedia content itemdisplay area 316 along the direction of arrow 322 beyond the lastcontent item preview 318 b, the user interface manager 102 updates themessaging graphical user interface 304 to include a camera roll of thecomputing device 300.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3E, upon the detected over-scroll,the user interface manager 102 displays a camera roll 326. In one ormore embodiments, the camera roll 326 provides a content item preview318′ for each multimedia content item stored on the computing device300. In one or more embodiments, the content item manager 106 may cropand tailor each camera roll preview 318′ in the same manner as describedwith regard to the multimedia content item previews 318 a and 318 babove.

Additionally, in one or more embodiments, if any of the camera rollpreviews 318′ is associated with a digital video multimedia contentitem, the content item manager 106 may provide a portion of the digitalvideo that auto plays from within the camera roll 326. Accordingly, inone or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102 may display thecamera roll 326 such that some of the camera roll content item previews318′ are still images (i.e., based on digital photograph multimediaitems) and some of the camera roll content item previews 318′ are autoplaying video clips (i.e., based on digital video multimedia items). Inone or more alternative embodiments, the content item manager 106 maynot provide any specialized content item previews for the camera roll.Rather, in an alternative embodiment, the user interface manager 102 maysimply display a minimized version of each digital picture and/or aminimized version of the first frame of each digital video within thecamera roll 326.

As shown in FIG. 3E, in one or more embodiments the camera roll 326 canoccupy the entire touch screen display 302. In other words, the displayof the camera roll 326 can cause a navigation away from thecommunication thread 306. In alternative embodiments, the user interfacemanager 102 can provide the camera roll 326 within the area of themessaging user interface 304 previously occupied by the content itemdisplay area 316. In such embodiments, the user can access the cameraroll 326 without navigating away from the communication thread 306.

In one or more embodiments, a user may select a content item previeweither from the camera roll 326 (i.e., one of the camera roll previews318′ of FIG. 3E) or from the multimedia content item display area 316,as shown in FIG. 3F. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3F, the userinput detector 104 may detect a user selection of the multimedia contentitem preview 318 c from the multimedia content item display area 316.For instance, the user input detector 104 may detect a tap touch gestureof the finger 314 of the user with the content item preview 318 c. Inone or more alternative embodiments, the user input detector 104 maydetect other types of user input such as a spoken command, an upwardswipe touch gesture, or any other suitable type of user input.

Upon detection of a selection of a content item preview 318 c, thecommunication manager 108 may send the multimedia content itemassociated with the content item preview 318 a to one or more co-users.For example, the communication manager 108 may send the multimediacontent item to the communication server 208, which may then forward themultimedia content item to one or more computing devices 204 associatedwith one or more intended recipients. In that case, the user interfacemanager 102 may also add the multimedia content item to thecommunication thread 306.

Alternatively, in response to selection of the multimedia content itempreview 318 c, the user interface manager 102 may alter the display ofthe content item preview 318 c so as to indicate the selection of thecontent item preview 318 c. For example, in response to the selection ofthe multimedia content item preview 318 c, the user interface manager102 may present a blurred version of the content item preview 318 c′, asshown in FIG. 3G. In one or more alternative embodiments, the userinterface manager 102 may alter the selected multimedia content itempreview 318 c in other ways in order to indicate the selection. Forexample, in one or more alternative embodiments, the user interfacemanager 102 may alter the color scheme of the selected content itempreview 318 c, may black out the selected preview 318 c, or may alterthe selected content item preview 318 c in any other way suitable forthis purpose. Furthermore, in one or more embodiments the selectedcontent item preview 318 c can also be enlarged or zoomed in.

Additionally, in response to a selection of the multimedia content itempreview 318 c, the user interface manager 102 may also present one ormore controls overlaid on the selected preview 318 c′. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 3G, in response to the selection of the preview 318c, the user interface manager 102 may overlay an edit control 328 and asend control 330 on the selected multimedia content item preview 318 c′.In one or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102 may overlayother or additional controls on the selected preview 318 c′. Forinstance, in one embodiment, the user interface manager 102 may alsooverlay a delete control over the selected preview 318 c′.

In response to a detected selection of a delete control, the contentitem manager 106 may remove the preview 318 c from the multimediacontent item display area 316. Additionally or alternatively, thecontent item manager 106 may permanently delete the multimedia contentitem associated with the preview 318 c from the computing device 300. Inone or more embodiments, the content item manager 106 may beconfigurable by a user in order to specify the actions taken with regardto the controls including the edit control 328, the send control 330,and the delete control.

In response to a detected selection of the send control 330, thecommunication manager 108 may send the multimedia content itemassociated with the selected preview 318 c′ to one or more co-users.Additionally, in one or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102may also add the multimedia content item associated with the selectedpreview 318 c′ to the communication thread 306. In one or moreembodiments, a user may unselect the selected preview 318 c′ simply bytapping anywhere else on the messaging graphical user interface 304.

The content item manager 106 may provide the multimedia content itemassociated with the multimedia content item preview 318 c′ for editingin response to a detected selection of the edit control 328. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 3G, the user input detector 104 may detect auser interaction (e.g., tap touch gesture) of a user's finger 314 withthe edit control 328. As shown in FIG. 3H, the user interface manager102 may present the multimedia content item 319 associated with theselected preview 318 c′ for editing in response to the detected userinteraction. In one or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102may also present a variety of editing controls within the messaginggraphical user interface 304. For example, the user interface manager102 may display a crop editing control 328 a (i.e., allows a user tocrop the multimedia content item 319), an auto-edit control 328 b (i.e.,performs preconfigured edits to the multimedia content item 319), acolor edit control 328 c (i.e., allows a user to edit the colors of themultimedia content item 319), and a writing edit control 328 d (i.e.,allows a user to add text or other drawn effects to the multimediacontent item 319). In one or more alternative embodiments, the userinterface manager 102 may display other or additional edit controlswhile the multimedia content item 319 associated with the selectedpreview 318 a′ is available for editing.

In one or more embodiments, the content item manager 106 may allow editsto a copy of a multimedia content item 319, rather than allowing editsto the original multimedia content item 319. This feature allows a userto send a copy of a multimedia content item to one or more co-users thathas been edited only for purposes related to a specific communicationsession. Thus, in one or more embodiments, edits made within theelectronic messaging system 100 may not be reflected to an original copyof the content item stored on the computing device 300.

The content item manager 106 may receive one or more edits to multimediacontent item 319 from a user. For example, as shown in FIG. 3H, a user'sfinger 314 may perform an edit 334. In the embodiment shown, the edit334 is writing added to the multimedia content item 319, in connectionwith a selection of the writing edit control 328 d. In additionalalternative embodiments, the content item manager 106 may receivefurther edits to the multimedia content item 319 in accordance with anyof the edit controls 328 a-d described above.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 3H, the user interface manager 102 maypresent additional controls while the multimedia content item 319 isavailable for editing. For example, the user interface manager 102 mayalso present a send control 330 and a cancel control 332. In one or moreembodiments, a detected selection of the send control 330 may cause thecommunication manager 108 to send the multimedia content item 319 alongwith the edit 334 to one or more co-users. Additionally, in one or moreembodiments, a detected selection of the cancel control 332 may causethe content item manager 106 to discard any edits made to the multimediacontent item 319. In an alternative embodiment, the user interfacemanager 102 may also present a save control while the multimedia contentitem 319 is available for editing. In one or more embodiments, adetected selection of the save control may cause the content itemmanager 106 to save the multimedia content item 319 along with the edits334 to the computing device 300.

In one or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102 may againdisplay the communication thread 306, the message input control paletteor toolbar 310, and the multimedia content item display area 316 inresponse to a detected selection of the send control 330, the cancelcontrol 332, or the save control as described with regard to FIG. 3H.For example, as shown in FIG. 3I, in response to a detected selection ofthe send control 330, the user interface manager 102 can display thecommunication thread 306, the message input control palette or toolbar310, and the multimedia content item display area 316 within themessaging graphical user interface 304. In one or more embodiments, asshown in FIG. 3I, the user interface manager 102 may automatically addthe multimedia content item 319 with the edit 334 to the communicationthread 306 in response to the detected selection of the send control330.

In one or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102 may displaythe multimedia content item preview 318 c within the multimedia contentitem display area 316 such that the content item preview 318 c does notreflect any edits. For example, because the content item manager 106provided a copy of the content item 319 (shown in FIG. 3G) for editing,the multimedia content item associated with the content item preview 318c was not affected by the edits 334. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3I,the user interface manager 102 displays the content item preview 318 cunchanged within the multimedia content item display area 316. In one ormore alternative embodiments, the content item manager 106 may providethe original multimedia content item for editing, rather than a copy319. In that alternative embodiment, the user interface manager 102 maydisplay the preview 318 c including the edits 334 within the multimediacontent item display area 316.

As shown in FIG. 3I, when sent to one or more co-users and when added tothe communication thread 306, the content item 319 can have a sizeconfigured for display within a communication thread 306. In particular,the content item 319 can occupy less than the entire communicationthread 306 both in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction. Bynot occupying the total vertical area of the communication thread 306,the communication thread 306 can display both the content item 319 andone or more messages as shown by FIG. 3I. Along related lines, by notoccupying the total horizontal area of the communication thread 306, thecontent item 319 can be positioned on one side of the communicationthread 306 so as to indicate whether the content item 319 was a sent orreceived message.

FIGS. 3A-3I illustrate the process for selecting and editing a digitalphotograph multimedia content item for inclusion in a communicationsession. As discussed above, the electronic messaging system 100 alsoallows a user to select and edit a digital video multimedia content itemfor inclusion in a communication session. The process for selecting andediting a digital video will now be discussed in relation to FIGS.4A-4E.

As described above, the user input detector 104 may detect a selectionof a multimedia content item preview 318 b from with the multimediacontent item display area 316. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, theuser input detector 104 may detect a tap touch gesture of the user'sfinger 314 on the content item preview 318 b. In one or more alternativeembodiments, the detected selection may be by way of another type ofuser interaction, such as a press-and-hold touch gesture, a spokencommand, or any other type of user interaction suitable for thispurpose. In one or more embodiments, as described above, the multimediacontent item associated with the content item preview 318 b may be adigital video.

As discussed above with regard to FIG. 3G, the communication manager 108may immediately send the digital video associated with the multimediacontent item preview 318 b in response to a particular user interaction.For example, the communication manager 108 may immediately send thedigital video associated with the content item preview 318 b to one ormore co-users upon detection of a selection of the content item preview318 b. Additionally, the user interface manager 102 may immediately addthe digital video to the communication thread 306 in response todetection of a selection of the content item preview 318 b.

Additionally or alternatively, in response to a touch gesture selectionof the multimedia content item preview 318 b, the user interface manager102 may alter the display of the content item preview 318 b so as toindicate the selection of the content item preview 318 b. For example,in response to the selection of the multimedia content item preview 318b in FIG. 4A, the user interface manager 102 may present a blurredversion of the preview 318 b′, as shown in FIG. 4B. As discussed above,the content item preview 318 b′ of a digital video is a portion of thedigital video that auto plays within the multimedia content item displayarea 316. Accordingly, in response to a selection of the content itempreview 318 b′, the user interface manager 102 may display a blurredportion of the digital video that auto plays within the multimediacontent item display area 316. In one or more alternative embodiments,in response to a selection of the content item preview 318 b′, the userinterface manager may display only a blurred single frame from thedigital video.

Additionally in response to a selection of the multimedia content itempreview 318 b, the user interface manager 102 may also present one ormore controls overlaid on the selected preview 318 b′, as illustrated inFIG. 4B. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, in response to theselection of the preview 318 a in FIG. 4A, the user interface manager102 may overlay the edit control 328 and the send control 330 on theselected multimedia content item preview 318 b′. In one or moreembodiments, the user interface manager 102 may overlay other oradditional controls on the selected content item preview 318 b′. Forinstance, in one embodiment, the user interface manager 102 may alsooverlay a delete control over the selected preview 318 b′.

In response to a detected selection of the send control 330, thecommunication manager 108 may send the multimedia content itemassociated with the selected content item preview 318 b′ to one or moreco-users. Additionally, in one or more embodiments, the user interfacemanager 102 may also add the multimedia content item associated with theselected content item preview 318 b′ to the communication thread 306. Inone or more embodiments, a user may unselect the selected content itempreview 318 b′ simply by tapping anywhere else on the messaginggraphical user interface 304.

As described above, the content item manager 106 may provide themultimedia content item associated with the multimedia content itempreview 318 b′ (or a copy thereof) for editing in response to a detectedselection of the edit control 328. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, theuser input detector 104 may detect a user interaction of the user'sfinger 314 with the edit control 328. In one or more embodiments, thedetected user interaction may be a tap touch gesture. In one or morealternative embodiments, the detected user interaction may be an upwardswipe touch gesture, a spoken command, or another type of user inputsuitable for this purpose.

As shown in FIG. 4C, the user interface manager 102 may present thecontent item 319 b associated with the selected preview 318 b′ forediting within the messaging graphical user interface 304 in response tothe detected user interaction. In one or more embodiments, and asdescribed above, the user interface manager 102 may also present avariety of editing controls within the messaging graphical userinterface 304. For example, the user interface manager 102 may displaythe crop editing control 328 a, the auto-edit control 328 b, the coloredit control 328 c, and the writing edit control 328 d. In one or morealternative embodiments, the user interface manager 102 may displayother or additional edit controls as described above.

In one or more embodiments, the editing controls 328 a-d may take ondifferent functionality depending on the type of multimedia content itemcurrently available for editing. For example, with regard to FIG. 3H,the multimedia content item type was a digital photograph. Accordingly,in one or more embodiments associated with a digital photograph, thecrop editing control 328 a may function to remove portions of thedigital photograph, thus changing the displayed portion of the digitalphotograph. However, with regard to FIG. 4C, the multimedia content itemtype is a digital video. As such, in one or more embodiments associatedwith a digital video, the crop editing control 328 a may function toremove portions of the digital video, thus changing the runtime of thedigital video. In one or more embodiments, the other editing controls328 b-d may have similarly alterable functionalities depending on themultimedia content item type.

As shown by FIG. 4C, the content item manager 106 may receive one ormore edits to the content item 319 b via one or more touch gestures. Inthe embodiment shown, the content item manager 106 has received an edit334 b changing a display property of the content item 319 b. Inparticular, the edit 334 b includes the addition of a border around thecontent item 319 b In additional alternative embodiments, the contentitem manager 106 may receive further edits to the content item 319 b inaccordance with any of the edit controls 328 a-d described above.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 4C, the user interface manager 102 maypresent additional controls while the content item 319 b is availablefor editing. For example, the user interface manager 102 may alsopresent the send control 330 and the cancel control 332. In one or moreembodiments, a detected selection of the send control 330 may cause thecommunication manager 108 to send the content item 319 b along with theedits 334 b to one or more co-users. Additionally, in one or moreembodiments, a detected selection of the cancel control 332 may causethe file manager 108 to discard any edits made to the content item 319 bof the multimedia content item. In an alternative embodiment, the userinterface manager 102 may also present a save control while the copy 319b is available for editing. In one or more embodiments, a detectedselection of the save control may cause the content item manager 106 tosave the content item 319 b along with the edits 334 b to the computingdevice 300.

In one or more embodiments, the user interface manager 102 may displaythe communication thread 306, the message input control palette ortoolbar 310, and the multimedia content item display area 316 inresponse to a detected selection of the send control 330, the cancelcontrol 332, or the save control as described with regard to FIG. 4C.For example, as shown in FIG. 4C, the user input detector 104 may detecta touch gesture performed by the user's finger 314 on the send control330. In response to a detected selection of the send control 330, in oneor more embodiments, the user interface manager 102 may display thecommunication thread 306, the message input control palette or toolbar310, and the multimedia content item display area 316 within themessaging graphical user interface 304, as shown in FIG. 4D. In one ormore embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4D, the user interface manager 102may automatically add the content item 319 b of the multimedia contentitem with the edits 334 b to the communication thread 306 in response tothe detected selection of the send control 330. As described above, thecontent item preview 318 b may not include the edits 334 b made to thecontent item 319 b.

As described above, the content item manager 106 may also package thecontent item 319 b of the multimedia content item with the edits 334 bsuch that it may be played from within the communication thread 306. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 4D, the content item manager 106 has added thecontent item 319 with the edits 334 b and a playback control 336 to thecommunication thread 306. In one or more alternative embodiments, theplayback control 336 may further include a time remaining indicator, apause button, or any other additional controls suitable for a video.

In response to a detected user interaction, the user interface manager102 may replace the multimedia content item display area 316 withanother control. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4E, the user inputdetector 104 may detect a user interaction of the user's finger 314interacting with the text input control 312 a within the message inputcontrol palette or toolbar 310. In one or more embodiments, in responseto this detected selection of the text input control 312 a, the userinterface manager 102 may replace the multimedia content item displayarea 316 with a touch screen display keyboard 338. In one or morealternative embodiments, the user interface manager 102 may replace themultimedia content item display area 316 with other types of controls inresponse to the detected selection of any of the input controls 312a-312 b.

FIGS. 1-4E, the corresponding text, and the examples, provide a numberof different systems and devices for selecting and including multimediacontent items in a communication session. In addition to the foregoing,embodiments of the present invention can also be described in terms offlowcharts comprising acts and steps in a method for accomplishing aparticular result. For example, FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate flowcharts ofexemplary methods in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent invention. The methods described in relation to FIGS. 5 and 6may be performed with less or more steps/acts or the steps/acts may beperformed in differing orders. Additionally, the steps/acts describedherein may be repeated or performed in parallel with one another or inparallel with different instances of the same or similar steps/acts.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of one example method 500 of selectingand including multimedia content items in a communication session. Themethod 500 includes an act 502 of providing a messaging graphical userinterface. In particular, the act 502 can involve providing, on a clientdevice, a messaging graphical user interface 304. In one or moreembodiments, the messaging graphical user interface 304 may include acommunication thread 306 in a first portion. In one or more embodiments,the communication thread may include a plurality of electronic messages308 a, 308 b exchanged between a user and one or more co-users.

The method 500 further includes an act 504 of detecting a selection of amultimedia input control. In particular, the act 504 can includedetecting a tap touch gesture selection of the multimedia input control312 c. In one or more embodiments, detecting a selection of a multimediainput control 312 c can include detecting the selection of themultimedia input control 312 c from a palette of input controls 310.

The method 500 also includes an act 506 of providing a multimediacontent item display area. In particular, the act 506 can involve, inresponse to the detected selection of the multimedia input control 312c, providing a multimedia content item display area 316 in a secondportion of the messaging graphical user interface 304. In one or moreembodiments, the multimedia content item display area 316 may provide apreview 318 a, 318 b of one or more multimedia content items stored onthe client device 300 available for sending as an electronic message 308a, 308 b.

In one or more embodiments, providing the multimedia content itemdisplay area 316 may include providing a preview 318 a, 318 b of one ormore recently stored multimedia content items. For example, one or morerecently stored multimedia content items may include multimedia itemsthat were stored within a given time limit, or window of time.Additionally, in one or more embodiments, the one or more multimediacontent items stored on the client device 300 available for sending asan electronic message 308 a, 308 b may include one or more digitalphotographs or digital videos. Furthermore, providing a preview 318 a,318 b of one or more multimedia content items may include providing adigital video that auto plays within the second portion of the messaginggraphical user interface 304.

Additionally, in one or more embodiments, the provided multimediacontent item display area 316 may be horizontally scrollable.Furthermore, in one or more embodiments, the method 500 may also includedetecting a horizontal over-scroll of the horizontally scrollablemultimedia content item display area 316. In response to the detectedhorizontal over-scroll, the method 500 may include displaying a cameraroll 326 associated with the client device 300.

The method 500 may further include cropping the preview 318 a, 318 b ofeach of the one or more multimedia content items stored on the clientdevice 300 available for sending as an electronic message 308 a, 308 b.In one or more embodiments, cropping the preview 318 a, 318 b of each ofthe one or more multimedia content items may further include tailoringthe cropped preview 318 a, 318 b of each of the one or more multimediacontent items to an aspect ratio of the second portion of the messaginggraphical user interface 304. For example, in one or more embodiments,tailoring the cropped preview 318 a, 318 b of each of the one or moremultimedia content items to an aspect ratio of the second portion of themessaging graphical user interface 304 may include displaying thepreviews 318 a, 318 b in the second portion of the messaging graphicaluser interface 304 such that the previews 318 a, 318 b are square.

The method 500 may also include detecting a selection of a preview 318a, 318 b of a multimedia content item provided in the multimedia contentitem display area 316 in the second portion of the messaging graphicaluser interface 304. In one or more embodiments, in response to thedetected selection of the preview 318 a, 318 b of the multimedia contentitem, the method can involve sending the multimedia content item 319corresponding to the selected preview 318 a, 318 b to one or moreco-users. Additionally, in one or more embodiments, in response tosending the multimedia content item 319, the method 500 may includeadding the multimedia content item 319 to the communication thread 306in the first portion of the messaging graphical user interface 304.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method 600 of selecting andincluding multimedia content items in a communication session. Themethod 600 includes an act 602 of providing a split-screen messaginggraphical user interface. In particular, the act 602 can involveproviding a split-screen messaging graphical user interface 304including two portions. In one or more embodiments, the first portion ofthe split-screen messaging graphical user interface 304 may include acommunication thread 306 including a plurality of electronic messages308 a, 308 b exchanged between a user and one or more co-users.Additionally in one or more embodiments, the second portion of thesplit-screen messaging graphical user interface 304 may include amultimedia content items display 316 including a preview 318 a, 318 b ofone or more multimedia content items. In one or more embodiments, thepreview 318 a, 318 b of one or more multimedia content items may betailored to an aspect ratio of the second portion or the first portionof the messaging graphical user interface 304.

The method 600 further includes an act 604 of detecting a selection of apreview of a multimedia content item. In particular, the act 604 caninvolve detecting a selection of a preview 318 a, 318 b of a multimediacontent item from the multimedia content item display 316. For example,in one or more embodiments, detecting a selection of a preview 318 a,318 b of a multimedia content items may include detecting a tap touchgesture interacting with the multimedia content item.

The method 600 further includes an act 606 of overlaying a control onthe selected preview of the multimedia content item. In particular, theact 606 can involve, in response to the detected selection of thepreview 318 a, 318 b of the multimedia content item from the multimediacontent item display 316, overlaying a first control on the selectedpreview 318 a, 318 b of the multimedia content item. For example, in oneor more embodiments, the first control overlaid on the selectedmultimedia content item may be an editing control 328. Additionally, inresponse to the detected selection of the preview 318 a, 318 b of themultimedia content item from the multimedia content item display 316,the act 606 may also include overlaying a second control on the selectedpreview 318 a, 318 b of the multimedia content item. For example, in oneor more embodiments, the second control overlaid on the selected preview318 a, 318 b of the multimedia content items may be a send control 330.Furthermore, in response to the detected selection of the preview 318 a,318 b of the multimedia content item from the multimedia content itemdisplay 316, the act 606 may also include blurring the selected preview318 a, 318 b of the multimedia content item.

The method 600 may further include detecting a selection of the editingcontrol 328 overlaid on the selected preview 318 a, 318 b of themultimedia content item. For example, in one or more embodiments, thedetected selection of the editing control 328 may be a tap touchgesture. Further more, in response to the detected selection of theediting control 328 overlaid on the selected preview 318 a, 318 b of themultimedia content item, the method 600 may also include presenting acopy 319 of the multimedia content item associated with the selectedpreview 318 a, 318 b for editing.

The method 600 may also include receiving one or more edits 334, 334 bto the copy 319 of the multimedia content item. For example, receivingone or more edits 334, 334 b to the copy 319 of the multimedia contentitem may be in response to presenting the copy 319 of the multimediacontent item for editing. The method 600 may further include adding thecopy 319 of the multimedia content item with the one or more edits 334,334 b to the communication thread 306. Additionally, the method 600 mayinclude sending the copy 319 of the multimedia content item with the oneor more edits 334, 334 b. For example, the method 600 may includesending the copy of the multimedia content item with the one or moreedits 334, 334 b to the one or more co-users.

Embodiments of the present invention may comprise or utilize a specialpurpose or general-purpose computer including computer hardware, suchas, for example, one or more processors and system memory, as discussedin greater detail below. Embodiments within the scope of the presentinvention also include physical and other computer-readable media forcarrying or storing computer-executable instructions and/or datastructures. In particular, one or more of the processes described hereinmay be implemented at least in part as instructions embodied in anon-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or morecomputing devices (e.g., any of the media content access devicesdescribed herein). In general, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor)receives instructions, from a non-transitory computer-readable medium,(e.g., a memory, etc.), and executes those instructions, therebyperforming one or more processes, including one or more of the processesdescribed herein.

Computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessedby a general purpose or special purpose computer system.Computer-readable media that store computer-executable instructions arenon-transitory computer-readable storage media (devices).Computer-readable media that carry computer-executable instructions aretransmission media. Thus, by way of example, and not limitation,embodiments of the invention can comprise at least two distinctlydifferent kinds of computer-readable media: non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media (devices) and transmission media.

Non-transitory computer-readable storage media (devices) includes RAM,ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, solid state drives (“SSDs”) (e.g., based on RAM),Flash memory, phase-change memory (“PCM”), other types of memory, otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium which can be used to store desired programcode means in the form of computer-executable instructions or datastructures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or specialpurpose computer.

A “network” is defined as one or more data links that enable thetransport of electronic data between computer systems and/or modulesand/or other electronic devices. When information is transferred orprovided over a network or another communications connection (eitherhardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to acomputer, the computer properly views the connection as a transmissionmedium. Transmissions media can include a network and/or data linkswhich can be used to carry desired program code means in the form ofcomputer-executable instructions or data structures and which can beaccessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. Combinationsof the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

Further, upon reaching various computer system components, program codemeans in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structurescan be transferred automatically from transmission media tonon-transitory computer-readable storage media (devices) (or viceversa). For example, computer-executable instructions or data structuresreceived over a network or data link can be buffered in RAM within anetwork interface module (e.g., a “NIC”), and then eventuallytransferred to computer system RAM and/or to less volatile computerstorage media (devices) at a computer system. Thus, it should beunderstood that non-transitory computer-readable storage media (devices)can be included in computer system components that also (or evenprimarily) utilize transmission media.

Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions anddata which, when executed at a processor, cause a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing deviceto perform a certain function or group of functions. In someembodiments, computer-executable instructions are executed on ageneral-purpose computer to turn the general-purpose computer into aspecial purpose computer implementing elements of the invention. Thecomputer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries,intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, or evensource code. Although the subject matter has been described in languagespecific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to beunderstood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the described features or acts described above.Rather, the described features and acts are disclosed as example formsof implementing the claims.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may bepracticed in network computing environments with many types of computersystem configurations, including, personal computers, desktop computers,laptop computers, message processors, hand-held devices, multi-processorsystems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, mobile telephones,PDAs, tablets, pagers, routers, switches, and the like. The inventionmay also be practiced in distributed system environments where local andremote computer systems, which are linked (either by hardwired datalinks, wireless data links, or by a combination of hardwired andwireless data links) through a network, both perform tasks. In adistributed system environment, program modules may be located in bothlocal and remote memory storage devices.

One or more embodiments of the invention can also be implemented incloud computing environments. In this description, “cloud computing” isdefined as a model for enabling on-demand network access to a sharedpool of configurable computing resources. For example, cloud computingcan be employed in the marketplace to offer ubiquitous and convenienton-demand access to the shared pool of configurable computing resources.The shared pool of configurable computing resources can be rapidlyprovisioned via virtualization and released with low management effortor service provider interaction, and then scaled accordingly.

A cloud-computing model can be composed of various characteristics suchas, for example, on-demand self-service, broad network access, resourcepooling, rapid elasticity, measured service, and so forth. Acloud-computing model can also expose various service models, such as,for example, Software as a Service (“SaaS”), Platform as a Service(“PaaS”), and Infrastructure as a Service (“IaaS”). A cloud-computingmodel can also be deployed using different deployment models such asprivate cloud, community cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud, and soforth. In this description and in the claims, a “cloud-computingenvironment” is an environment in which cloud computing is employed.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of exemplary computing device 700that may be configured to perform one or more of the processes describedabove. One will appreciate that one or more computing devices such asthe computing device 700 may implement the electronic messaging system100. Any of the computing devices 202, 204, 300 or communication server208 can comprise a computing device 700. As shown by FIG. 7, thecomputing device 700 can comprise a processor 702, a memory 704, astorage device 706, an I/O interface 708, and a communication interface710, which may be communicatively coupled by way of a communicationinfrastructure 712. While an exemplary computing device 700 is shown inFIG. 7, the components illustrated in FIG. 7 are not intended to belimiting. Additional or alternative components may be used in otherembodiments. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the computing device700 can include fewer components than those shown in FIG. 7. Componentsof the computing device 700 shown in FIG. 7 will now be described inadditional detail.

In one or more embodiments, the processor 702 includes hardware forexecuting instructions, such as those making up a computer program. Asan example and not by way of limitation, to execute instructions, theprocessor 702 may retrieve (or fetch) the instructions from an internalregister, an internal cache, the memory 704, or the storage device 706and decode and execute them. In one or more embodiments, the processor702 may include one or more internal caches for data, instructions, oraddresses. As an example and not by way of limitation, the processor 702may include one or more instruction caches, one or more data caches, andone or more translation lookaside buffers (TLBs). Instructions in theinstruction caches may be copies of instructions in the memory 704 orthe storage 706.

The memory 704 may be used for storing data, metadata, and programs forexecution by the processor(s). The memory 704 may include one or more ofvolatile and non-volatile memories, such as Random Access Memory(“RAM”), Read Only Memory (“ROM”), a solid state disk (“SSD”), Flash,Phase Change Memory (“PCM”), or other types of data storage. The memory704 may be internal or distributed memory.

The storage device 706 includes storage for storing data orinstructions. As an example and not by way of limitation, storage device706 can comprise a non-transitory storage medium described above. Thestorage device 706 may include a hard disk drive (HDD), a floppy diskdrive, flash memory, an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, magnetictape, or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive or a combination of two ormore of these. The storage device 706 may include removable ornon-removable (or fixed) media, where appropriate. The storage device706 may be internal or external to the computing device 700. In one ormore embodiments, the storage device 706 is non-volatile, solid-statememory. In other embodiments, the storage device 706 includes read-onlymemory (ROM). Where appropriate, this ROM may be mask programmed ROM,programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasablePROM (EEPROM), electrically alterable ROM (EAROM), or flash memory or acombination of two or more of these.

The I/O interface 708 allows a user to provide input to, receive outputfrom, and otherwise transfer data to and receive data from computingdevice 700. The I/O interface 608 may include a mouse, a keypad or akeyboard, a touch screen, a camera, an optical scanner, networkinterface, modem, other known I/O devices or a combination of such I/Ointerfaces. The I/O interface 708 may include one or more devices forpresenting output to a user, including, but not limited to, a graphicsengine, a display (e.g., a display screen), one or more output drivers(e.g., display drivers), one or more audio speakers, and one or moreaudio drivers. In certain embodiments, the I/O interface 708 isconfigured to provide graphical data to a display for presentation to auser. The graphical data may be representative of one or more graphicaluser interfaces and/or any other graphical content as may serve aparticular implementation.

The communication interface 710 can include hardware, software, or both.In any event, the communication interface 710 can provide one or moreinterfaces for communication (such as, for example, packet-basedcommunication) between the computing device 700 and one or more othercomputing devices or networks. As an example and not by way oflimitation, the communication interface 710 may include a networkinterface controller (NIC) or network adapter for communicating with anEthernet or other wire-based network or a wireless NIC (WNIC) orwireless adapter for communicating with a wireless network, such as aWI-FI.

Additionally or alternatively, the communication interface 710 mayfacilitate communications with an ad hoc network, a personal areanetwork (PAN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), ametropolitan area network (MAN), or one or more portions of the Internetor a combination of two or more of these. One or more portions of one ormore of these networks may be wired or wireless. As an example, thecommunication interface 710 may facilitate communications with awireless PAN (WPAN) (such as, for example, a BLUETOOTH WPAN), a WI-FInetwork, a WI-MAX network, a cellular telephone network (such as, forexample, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network), orother suitable wireless network or a combination thereof.

Additionally, the communication interface 710 may facilitatecommunications various communication protocols. Examples ofcommunication protocols that may be used include, but are not limitedto, data transmission media, communications devices, TransmissionControl Protocol (“TCP”), Internet Protocol (“IP”), File TransferProtocol (“FTP”), Telnet, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”),Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (“HTTPS”), Session InitiationProtocol (“SIP”), Simple Object Access Protocol (“SOAP”), ExtensibleMark-up Language (“XML”) and variations thereof, Simple Mail TransferProtocol (“SMTP”), Real-Time Transport Protocol (“RTP”), User DatagramProtocol (“UDP”), Global System for Mobile Communications (“GSM”)technologies, Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) technologies, TimeDivision Multiple Access (“TDMA”) technologies, Short Message Service(“SMS”), Multimedia Message Service (“MMS”), radio frequency (“RF”)signaling technologies, Long Term Evolution (“LTE”) technologies,wireless communication technologies, in-band and out-of-band signalingtechnologies, and other suitable communications networks andtechnologies.

The communication infrastructure 712 may include hardware, software, orboth that couples components of the computing device 700 to each other.As an example and not by way of limitation, the communicationinfrastructure 712 may include an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) orother graphics bus, an Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture (EISA)bus, a front-side bus (FSB), a HYPERTRANSPORT (HT) interconnect, anIndustry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, an INFINIBAND interconnect, alow-pin-count (LPC) bus, a memory bus, a Micro Channel Architecture(MCA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, a PCI-Express(PCIe) bus, a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) bus, a VideoElectronics Standards Association local (VLB) bus, or another suitablebus or a combination thereof.

As mentioned above, the network 206 and/or communication server 208 cancomprise a social-networking system. A social-networking system mayenable its users (such as persons or organizations) to interact with thesystem and with each other. The social-networking system may, with inputfrom a user, create and store in the social-networking system a userprofile associated with the user. The user profile may includedemographic information, communication-channel information, andinformation on personal interests of the user. The social-networkingsystem may also, with input from a user, create and store a record ofrelationships of the user with other users of the social-networkingsystem, as well as provide services (e.g. wall posts, photo-sharing,event organization, messaging, games, or advertisements) to facilitatesocial interaction between or among users.

The social-networking system may store records of users andrelationships between users in a social graph comprising a plurality ofnodes and a plurality of edges connecting the nodes. The nodes maycomprise a plurality of user nodes and a plurality of concept nodes. Auser node of the social graph may correspond to a user of thesocial-networking system. A user may be an individual (human user), anentity (e.g., an enterprise, business, or third party application), or agroup (e.g., of individuals or entities). A user node corresponding to auser may comprise information provided by the user and informationgathered by various systems, including the social-networking system.

For example, the user may provide his or her name, profile picture, cityof residence, contact information, birth date, gender, marital status,family status, employment, educational background, preferences,interests, and other demographic information to be included in the usernode. Each user node of the social graph may have a corresponding webpage (typically known as a profile page). In response to a requestincluding a user name, the social-networking system can access a usernode corresponding to the user name, and construct a profile pageincluding the name, a profile picture, and other information associatedwith the user. A profile page of a first user may display to a seconduser all or a portion of the first user's information based on one ormore privacy settings by the first user and the relationship between thefirst user and the second user.

A concept node may correspond to a concept of the social-networkingsystem. For example, a concept can represent a real-world entity, suchas a movie, a song, a sports team, a celebrity, a group, a restaurant,or a place or a location. An administrative user of a concept nodecorresponding to a concept may create or update the concept node byproviding information of the concept (e.g., by filling out an onlineform), causing the social-networking system to associate the informationwith the concept node. For example and without limitation, informationassociated with a concept can include a name or a title, one or moreimages (e.g., an image of cover page of a book), a web site (e.g., anURL address) or contact information (e.g., a phone number, an emailaddress). Each concept node of the social graph may correspond to a webpage. For example, in response to a request including a name, thesocial-networking system can access a concept node corresponding to thename, and construct a web page including the name and other informationassociated with the concept.

An edge between a pair of nodes may represent a relationship between thepair of nodes. For example, an edge between two user nodes can representa friendship between two users. For another example, thesocial-networking system may construct a web page (or a structureddocument) of a concept node (e.g., a restaurant, a celebrity),incorporating one or more selectable buttons (e.g., “like”, “check in”)in the web page. A user can access the page using a web browser hostedby the user's client device and select a selectable button, causing theclient device to transmit to the social-networking system a request tocreate an edge between a user node of the user and a concept node of theconcept, indicating a relationship between the user and the concept(e.g., the user checks in a restaurant, or the user “likes” acelebrity).

As an example, a user may provide (or change) his or her city ofresidence, causing the social-networking system to create an edgebetween a user node corresponding to the user and a concept nodecorresponding to the city declared by the user as his or her city ofresidence. In addition, the degree of separation between any two nodesis defined as the minimum number of hops required to traverse the socialgraph from one node to the other. A degree of separation between twonodes can be considered a measure of relatedness between the users orthe concepts represented by the two nodes in the social graph. Forexample, two users having user nodes that are directly connected by anedge (i.e., are first-degree nodes) may be described as “connectedusers” or “friends.” Similarly, two users having user nodes that areconnected only through another user node (i.e., are second-degree nodes)may be described as “friends of friends.”

A social-networking system may support a variety of applications, suchas photo sharing, on-line calendars and events, gaming, instantmessaging, and advertising. For example, the social-networking systemmay also include media sharing capabilities. Also, the social-networkingsystem may allow users to post photographs and other multimedia files toa user's profile page (typically known as “wall posts” or “timelineposts”) or in a photo album, both of which may be accessible to otherusers of the social-networking system depending upon the user'sconfigured privacy settings. The social-networking system may also allowusers to configure events. For example, a first user may configure anevent with attributes including time and date of the event, location ofthe event and other users invited to the event. The invited users mayreceive invitations to the event and respond (such as by accepting theinvitation or declining it). Furthermore, the social-networking systemmay allow users to maintain a personal calendar. Similarly to events,the calendar entries may include times, dates, locations and identitiesof other users.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example network environment of a social-networkingsystem. In one or more embodiments, a social-networking system 802 maycomprise one or more data stores. For example, the social-networkingsystem 802 may store a social graph comprising user nodes, conceptnodes, and edges between nodes as described earlier. Each user node maycomprise one or more data objects corresponding to informationassociated with or describing a user. Each concept node may comprise oneor more data objects corresponding to information associated with aconcept. Each edge between a pair of nodes may comprise one or more dataobjects corresponding to information associated with a relationshipbetween users (or between a user and a concept, or between concepts)corresponding to the pair of nodes.

In one or more embodiments, the social-networking system 802 maycomprise one or more computing devices (e.g., servers) hostingfunctionality directed to operation of the social-networking system. Auser of the social-networking system 802 may access thesocial-networking system 802 using a client device such as client device806. In particular, the client device 806 can interact with thesocial-networking system 802 through a network 804.

The client device 806 may be a desktop computer, laptop computer, tabletcomputer, personal digital assistant (PDA), in- or out-of-car navigationsystem, smart phone or other cellular or mobile phone, or mobile gamingdevice, other mobile device, or other suitable computing devices. Clientdevice 806 may execute one or more client applications, such as a webbrowser (e.g., Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox,Apple Safari, Google Chrome, Opera, etc.) or a native or special-purposeclient application (e.g., Facebook for iPhone or iPad, Facebook forAndroid, etc.), to access and view content over a network 804.

Network 804 may represent a network or collection of networks (such asthe Internet, a corporate intranet, a virtual private network (VPN), alocal area network (LAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), acellular network, a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), or a combination of two or more such networks) over which clientdevices 806 may access the social-networking system 802.

While these methods, systems, and user interfaces utilize both publiclyavailable information as well as information provided by users of thesocial-networking system, all use of such information is to beexplicitly subject to all privacy settings of the involved users and theprivacy policy of the social-networking system as a whole.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. Various embodimentsand aspects of the invention(s) are described with reference to detailsdiscussed herein, and the accompanying drawings illustrate the variousembodiments. The description above and drawings are illustrative of theinvention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.Numerous specific details are described to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various embodiments of the present invention.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicatedby the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. Allchanges that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are to be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer readable storage mediumhaving stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processor, cause a mobile client device to: provide amessaging graphical user interface of a messaging application, themessaging graphical user interface comprising: a communication threadincluding a plurality of exchanged electronic messages in a firstportion; and a second portion comprising a preview of one or moremultimedia content items from a camera roll of a mobile device; receivea selection of a preview of a multimedia content item; provide, withoutnavigating away from the messaging application, the multimedia contentitem together with one or more editing controls; edit the multimediacontent item based on user interaction with an editing control of theone or more editing controls; send the edited multimedia content item asan electronic message; and add the edited multimedia content item to thecommunication thread.
 2. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more multimedia contentitems comprise one or more digital photographs or digital videos.
 3. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1,wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by theprocessor, cause the mobile client device to edit the multimedia contentitem without editing a corresponding version of the multimedia contentitem stored within the camera roll.
 4. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein thecomputer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, causethe mobile client device to provide the multimedia content item togetherwith one or more editing controls by providing one or more of a cropediting control, an auto-edit control, or a color edit control.
 5. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1,wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by theprocessor, cause the mobile client device to edit the multimedia contentitem based on user interaction with an editing control of the one ormore editing controls without utilizing a separate editing application.6. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited inclaim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed bythe processor, further cause the mobile client device to.
 7. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1,wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by theprocessor, cause the mobile client device to provide, without navigatingaway from the messaging application, the multimedia content itemtogether with one or more editing controls by replacing with thecommunication thread and the second portion with an enlarged version ofthe multimedia content item compared to the preview of the multimediacontent item with the one or more editing controls.
 8. A mobile devicecomprising: a touch screen; and at least one processor configured tocause the mobile device to: provide a messaging graphical user interfaceof a messaging application via the touch screen, the messaging graphicaluser interface comprising: a communication thread including a pluralityof exchanged electronic messages in a first portion; and a secondportion comprising a preview of one or more multimedia content itemsfrom a camera roll of a mobile device; receive a selection of a previewof a multimedia content item; provide, without navigating away from themessaging application, the multimedia content item together with one ormore editing controls; edit the multimedia content item based on userinteraction with an editing control of the one or more editing controls;send the edited multimedia content item as an electronic message; andadd the edited multimedia content item to the communication thread. 9.The mobile device as recited in claim 8, wherein the at least oneprocessor configured to cause the mobile device to provide themultimedia content item together with one or more editing controls byproviding one or more of a crop editing control, an auto-edit control,or a color edit control.
 10. The mobile device as recited in claim 8,wherein the at least one processor configured to further cause themobile device to: in response to a detected press-and-hold touch gestureselection of the preview of the multimedia content item, provide a firstcontrol, wherein the first control is a first editing control; andprovide the multimedia content item together with one or more editingcontrols in response to selection of the first editing control.
 11. Themobile device as recited in claim 10, wherein the at least one processorconfigured to cause the mobile device to, in response to the detectedpress-and-hold touch gesture selection of the preview of the multimediacontent item, provide a second control adjacent to the first control,wherein the second control overlaid on the selected preview of themultimedia content item is a send control.
 12. The mobile device asrecited in claim 11, wherein the at least one processor configured tocause the mobile device to in response to the detected press-and-holdtouch gesture selection of the preview of the multimedia content item,blur the selected preview of the multimedia content item underlying thefirst control and the second control.
 13. The mobile device as recitedin claim 8, wherein the at least one processor configured to cause themobile device to: provide the multimedia content item together with oneor more editing controls by providing a copy of the multimedia contentitem in a user interface in place of the messaging graphical userinterface; and edit the multimedia content item based on userinteraction with the one or more editing controls by editing the copy ofthe multimedia content item.
 14. The mobile device as recited in claim13, wherein the at least one processor configured to further cause themobile device to: crop the preview of each of the one or more multimediacontent items to a size that allows multiple previews to fit within ascrollable multimedia content item display area; and provide a pluralityof cropped previews simultaneously together within the scrollablemultimedia content item display area.
 15. The mobile device as recitedin claim 14, wherein the at least one processor configured to cause themobile device to edit the copy of the multimedia content item withoutediting a corresponding version of the multimedia content item storedwithin the camera roll.
 16. The mobile device as recited in claim 8,wherein the at least one processor configured to further cause themobile device to edit the multimedia content item based on userinteraction with an editing control of the one or more editing controlswithout utilizing a separate editing application.
 17. A methodcomprising: providing a messaging graphical user interface of amessaging application, the messaging graphical user interfacecomprising: a communication thread including a plurality of exchangedelectronic messages in a first portion; and a second portion comprisinga preview of one or more multimedia content items from a camera roll ofa mobile device; receiving a selection of a preview of a multimediacontent item; providing, without navigating away from the messagingapplication, the multimedia content item together with one or moreediting controls; editing the multimedia content item based on userinteraction with an editing control of the one or more editing controls;sending the edited multimedia content item as an electronic message; andadding the edited multimedia content item to the communication thread.18. The method as recited in claim 17, further comprising: providing themultimedia content item together with one or more editing controls byproviding a copy of the multimedia content item in a user interface inplace of the messaging graphical user interface; and editing themultimedia content item based on user interaction with the one or moreediting controls by editing the copy of the multimedia content item. 19.The method as recited in claim 18, further comprising editing the copyof the multimedia content item without editing a corresponding versionof the multimedia content item stored within the camera roll.
 20. Themethod as recited in claim 18, further comprising editing the multimediacontent item based on user interaction with an editing control of theone or more editing controls without utilizing a separate editingapplication.